GEOG 1100 Final Exam Study Guide - Agriculture & Food, Places & Landscapes, Cultural Geographies, Social Geographies, Urbanization

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from chapters on Agriculture & Food, Places & Landscapes, Cultural Geographies, Social Geographies, and Urbanization.

agrarian

Relating to land, agriculture, or rural matters.

hunting and gathering

Early food system involving collecting wild plants and hunting animals.

agriculture

Human cultivation of crops and rearing of animals.

subsistence agriculture

Farming to meet the needs of the farmer and family; little or no surplus.

commercial agriculture

Farming undertaken primarily to produce surplus for sale in markets.

First Agricultural Revolution

Neolithic Revolution; domestication of plants and animals leading to farming.

Second Agricultural Revolution

Improvements such as crop rotation, better tools, and the Enclosure Acts that increased productivity in Europe.

Third Agricultural Revolution

Mechanization, chemical inputs, and GMOs to increase yields.

Enclosure Acts

Legislation privatizing common lands, displacing many rural people and changing farming practices.

Mechanization

Use of machines in farming to increase productivity.

Chemical farming

Use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to boost yields.

Green Revolution

Technologies (HYV seeds, irrigation, fertilizers) to increase agricultural output in developing countries.

Biorevolution

Advances in biotechnology affecting agriculture (genetic modification, etc.).

GMOs

Genetically Modified Organisms; organisms whose genes have been engineered.

Golden Rice

A GMO rice engineered to produce beta-carotene (vitamin A) to combat deficiency.

Monsanto

Multinational agrochemical/biotech company known for GM crops and Roundup.

Roundup Ready crops

GM crops engineered to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate.

Industrial agriculture

Large-scale, mechanized farming using chemical inputs and agro-industry.

Globalized agriculture

Agriculture integrated into global supply chains and markets across borders.

Food commodity chain

Sequence from production through processing, distribution, consumption, to disposal.

Food security

All people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food.

Undernutrition

Inadequate intake of calories or nutrients.

Malnutrition

Poor nutrition due to insufficient, excessive, or unbalanced nutrients.

Famine

Severe and widespread shortage of food leading to hunger and deaths.

Alternative Food Movements

Efforts like organic farming, local food systems, regenerative agriculture, and food forests challenging industrial systems.

Great Green Wall of Africa

Pan-African project to combat desertification by creating vegetation across the continent.

Cultural Landscape

A landscape shaped and modified by human activity and culture.

Ordinary landscapes

Everyday landscapes experienced in routine life.

Symbolic landscapes

Landscapes imbued with meanings beyond practical use.

Territoriality

Sense of ownership and control over a geographic area.

Proxemics

Study of how people use space and personal distance in communication.

Topophilia

A strong sense of place or attachment to place.

Derelict Landscapes

Disused or neglected landscapes reflecting economic and social change.

Semiotics

Study of signs and symbols and their interpretation.

Landscapes as Texts

Idea that landscapes convey meanings that can be read like texts.

Malls as Coded Spaces

Shopping spaces that encode consumer culture and social norms.

Sacred Space

Places regarded as sacred within religious or spiritual traditions.

Sense of Place

Emotional and symbolic attachment to a place.

Place-Marketing

Strategic promotion of a place to attract tourists, residents, or investment.

Mega-Events

Large-scale events (e.g., Olympics) shaping cities and landscapes.

Culture

Shared beliefs, practices, and traits of a group.

Material culture

Physical objects, artifacts, and structures produced by a culture.

Symbolic culture

Non-material aspects such as beliefs, values, and norms.

Cultural Trait

A single element of culture, such as a custom or practice.

Appropriation

Adopting elements of another culture, often contentiously.

Diaspora

Dispersed population whose origins lie in a common homeland.

Cultural Imperialism

Domination of one culture over others through media, politics, and economics; examples include Americanization and McDonaldization.

Americanization

Spread of American culture and commercial practices globally.

McDonaldization

Process by which fast-food principles—efficiency, predictability, calculability, control—shape other sectors.

Social Geography

Study of space, identity, and inequality in geographic contexts.

Identity

How individuals/groups define themselves in relation to space and culture.

Intersectionality

Interconnected nature of social categorizations like race, class, and gender.

Race

Socially constructed category of people defined by physical characteristics and ancestry.

Ethnicity

Shared cultural heritage and identity.

Geographies of Race/Ethnicity

Spatial distribution and spatialization of race/ethnicity.

Racialized Spaces

Spaces where racial meanings affect access and use.

Chinatown

Example of a racialized urban district; noted Vancouver Chinatown as a case in point.

Urbanization

Growth of cities and accumulation of people in urban areas.

Urban Form

The physical layout and structure of a city.

Urban System

Network of cities and their relationships within a region or country.

Megacity

City with a population over 10 million.

Megalopolis

A large, interconnected urban region of multiple cities.

Overurbanization

When urban growth outpaces the city’s capacity to provide jobs and services.

Deindustrialization

Decline of industrial activity in a region, often leading to economic restructuring.

Informal Economy

Economic activities outside formal, regulated channels (e.g., street vendors).

Fiscal Squeeze

Budgetary pressure on governments due to tax revenue shortfalls or rising costs.

Core Cities

Central, economically dominant cities within a region.

Peripheral Cities

Smaller or less developed cities on the regional periphery.

Urban Functions

Roles of cities in governance, economy, culture, transport, etc.

Detroit

Example of a deindustrialized, declining American city.

Dharavi

One of Asia’s largest informal settlements in Mumbai; example of informal economy.